Samford Preparatory Music Director Wins State Honor

Samford University preparatory music department director Connie Macon is recipient of the Alabama Music Teachers Association's (AMTA) 2009 Teacher of the Year award. Macon received the award at the AMTA annual conference on June 11.

The honor recognizes the member who best exhibits excellence in teaching, musicianship and service to AMTA and the community.

Macon has been director of the Samford School of the Arts' preparatory department since 1989. She is founding director of Samford's popular Adventures in Music and All Aboard for Music camps for youngsters. A nationally certified teacher of music, she also teaches piano privately and is a Samford adjunct instructor in class piano.

She is faculty sponsor for Samford's collegiate chapters of Music Teachers National Association and Delta Omicron professional music fraternity. She was Delta Omicron's national 2008 chapter advisor of the year, and is regional president-elect.

Macon holds a bachelor's degree in piano performance from Samford, where she studied with Dr. Betty Sue Shepherd, and a master's in piano pedagogy from Southern Methodist University, in Dallas, Texas. She studied pre-college piano for 10 years with Mrs. Betty Gillum in her hometown of Sylacauga, Ala.

Macon serves on the AMTA executive board, is vice president of the Birmingham Music Teachers Association, and is a past president of Metro Music Forum. A frequent judge for scholarship and keyboard auditions and festivals, she also performs in recitals and has served as a church pianist.

She and her husband, Briggs, have two children, Joseph and Sarah.

AMTA membership includes professional music teachers who instruct in studios and public and private school settings throughout the state.